


adapting

by bruises



Series: femslash february 2016 [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Feelings, Femslash February, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 10:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6002854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bruises/pseuds/bruises
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She walks over to the table that Malia is at, and sits down in the seat beside her with a thump. Malia moves her textbooks closer to her body and eyes Tracy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	adapting

**Author's Note:**

> written for [twfemslashficrec's femslash february writing challenge](http://twfemslashficrec.tumblr.com/post/137964031134/hey-writers-this-femslash-february) day 15: hurt/comfort. also for [nighttimemachinery on tumblr](http://nighttimemachinery.tumblr.com/), i hope you like it harper!

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tracy groans.

She walks over to the table that Malia is at, and sits down in the seat beside her with a thump. Malia moves her textbooks closer to her body and eyes Tracy.

“Can I swap partners?” Malia asks, looking at the teacher.

The teacher shakes her head and goes back to looking through a stack of papers on her desk. Malia lets out a sigh and turns to Tracy.

“So we have to do an assignment on genetics?” She asks, her tone abrupt and unfriendly.

Tracy nods and pushes the paper across the table. “It’s due in three days.”

“Great,” Malia rolls her eyes. “When do you want to get started?”

“As soon as possible,” Tracy tells her.

She’s worried that something will come up; another beast - another _problem_. For the past couple of months, Tracy’s life has revolved around conflict after conflict. It’s a surprise she’s even at school. She goes to distract herself; she’ll do anything to ignore the supernatural world.

“How’s tonight?” Malia asks, noticing Tracy zoning out. “You can come to my place and we can finish the rest in the library tomorrow.”

Tracy feels her heart thud against her chest. For the first time in months, someone outside the chimera pack is talking to her and _paying attention to her_. She still can’t believe how much her life has changed in such a short amount of time.

“Tracy?” Malia says, nudging her arm.

She looks up at Malia with her lips sealed.

“Is that okay…” Malia prompts, searching for an answer.

Tracy nods. “Yeah, that’s fine. What time?”

“Any time after five is good for me,” Malia shrugs. “What do you eat?”

Tracy quirks an eyebrow at her. “Food?”

With a roll of her eyes, Malia sighs. “What kind of food?”

Tracy looks around the classroom; she sees students typing furiously and scrawling things down on paper. They’re sitting together discussing what kind of food she likes.

“Anything,” She replies. If she’s being honest, everything she’s eaten since she came back has tasted like dust.

Malia gives her a look that says _wow, that was so helpful_ , but Tracy can’t find the energy to say anything else. She watches Malia for a moment and wonders if she’s going to ask anymore questions.

She doesn’t - they sit in silence until class is over. When the bell rings, Malia slides her a piece of paper (that she tore out of her exercise book) with an address and a phone number written on it. Before Tracy can say thanks, Malia is already on her way to her next class.

* * *

Finding snacks is harder than Malia expects. She’s been at the grocery store for almost half an hour now. Anything? There’s hundreds of things that she can buy but none of them seem to fit Tracy’s description of ‘anything’.

Malia lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose. She decides to get her favourite things; candy, chocolate cake mix (she never ends up making the cake, she just eats the batter), peppermint tea, and a pack of donuts. The man at the checkout asks her if she’s going to be eating this all by herself, Malia grunts and doesn’t reply.

When she gets home, it’s ten to five. Malia quickly dumps everything on the countertop and does a rushed check of the house. She makes sure that everything is clean and tidy; she washes a few dishes and picks up some clothes that need to go in the washing machine.

As she turns the washing machine on, there’s a knock at her door. _Tracy._ Malia presses the last button and rushes to the door.

She hears Tracy’s heartbeat in her ears before she opens the door. It’s the same as it was when they were in the classroom; beating fast and hard. Malia opens the door and sees her standing there, books clutched to her chest and bag over her shoulder.

Malia wants to ask her if she’s okay and ask her what’s wrong, but she can’t bring herself to. She doesn’t want to overstep her boundaries.

“Come in,” Malia says, moving out of the way.

Tracy nods and follows her inside. They sit down in the lounge room and Tracy unpacks her things. She sets her biology book down on the coffee table along with her pencil case and laptop.

“I’ll go grab the bio textbook,” Malia tells her. “One second.”

Within seconds, Malia returns with her biology textbook and the pack of donuts. She puts them down next to Tracy’s things and sits down beside her TV. Tracy flinches when Malia reaches across her for the remote; Malia frowns.

“Is everything okay, Tracy?” She asks.

Malia notices that Tracy is trembling; how long has she been like this? Her eyes grow wide when she hears a sudden rise in Tracy’s heartbeat. 

“Tracy?” Malia repeats, her voice strained.

When she gets no response, Malia moves right next to Tracy and reaches for her hand. Her veins turn black within seconds and Malia gasps. How much pain is she in right now?

“I’m fine,” Tracy stutters, getting up from the couch.

She looks down at the ground and tries to pack up all her books. “This was a bad idea, I should go.”

“Don’t go,” Malia tells her, stepping closer. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Tracy shakes her head. “I’m fi-”

“You’re not fine. What happened to you...after you came back?”

A sigh escapes Tracy’s lips, but she sits back down on the couch. Malia remembers how cold her hand was, so she gets a blanket and wraps it around Tracy’s shaking body.

“Everything is just...off. I’m constantly freezing, everything I eat tastes like dust, I barely sleep, and I’m probably failing all my classes,” Tracy frowns. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

She shuffles down the couch and lies her head down on one of the cushions. Malia sits at the end and watches her carefully.

Malia has vivid memories of her time as a coyote; everything made sense. Then suddenly she was human again for the first time in eight years, and everyone expected her to go to math class and learn to adapt. Adapting was hard; it’s still hard.

“Warm showers don’t help,” Malia says bluntly. “Trust me, I tried. I used up all the hot water before it made any difference.”

“You’ve been through this?” Tracy asks, sitting up to look at Malia.

She shrugs. “I didn’t die and come back to life. I turned on a full-moon and killed my family. I didn’t shift back into a human for like, eight years.”

“And you don’t have a fur coat anymore, obviously,” Tracy tells her, piecing the puzzle together. “Do you still get cold?”

“Not anymore,” Malia shakes her head.

Before Tracy can ask another question, Malia lays down beside her and wraps her arms around her torso. They’re a little squished on the couch, but Tracy manages to swiftly toss the blanket over Malia. Malia presses play on the movie they were about to watch and looks up at the ceiling.

“The assignment can wait until tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll get it done,” She sighs. “Can you pass the donuts?”

A small chuckle comes from Tracy and Malia feels butterflies in her stomach. Tracy hands her the donuts, and she puts them on the armrest.

Malia tucks her head against Tracy’s neck and relaxes.

“Are you feeling any better?” She hums.

Tracy nods. “Don’t let me die again, Malia.”

A pang of sadness hits Malia’s chest. She presses a small kiss to Tracy’s temple and tries her hardest not to cry. “I won’t. I promise.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think!! // [my tumblr](http://ohfemslash.tumblr.com/)


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